Insider Selling: The Gap, Inc. (NYSE:GAP) CEO Sells 40,764 Shares of Stock

The Gap, Inc. (NYSE:GAP) CEO Horacio Barbeito sold 40,764 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.07, for a total value of $818,133.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,181.56. This represents a 99.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link.

GAP Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE GAP traded up $1.72 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $21.74. 12,226,921 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,291,463. The Gap, Inc. has a twelve month low of $18.54 and a twelve month high of $26.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.06, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 2.38. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $22.50 and its 200-day simple moving average is $22.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

GAP (NYSE:GAP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.18. GAP had a return on equity of 29.03% and a net margin of 5.40%. The business had revenue of $4.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.07 billion. As a group, research analysts predict that The Gap, Inc. will post 2.02 earnings per share for the current year.

GAP Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be issued a $0.165 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.04%. This is an increase from GAP’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. GAP’s payout ratio is currently 29.86%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Argus upgraded shares of GAP from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $27.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Telsey Advisory Group reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $26.00 price target on shares of GAP in a research note on Friday, March 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on GAP from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on GAP from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of GAP from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $29.25.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On GAP

A hedge fund recently bought a new stake in GAP stock. California State Teachers Retirement System acquired a new position in shares of The Gap, Inc. (NYSE:GAP) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 209,599 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,953,000. California State Teachers Retirement System owned 0.06% of GAP as of its most recent SEC filing. Institutional investors own 58.81% of the company’s stock.

GAP Company Profile

Gap, Inc operates as a global apparel retail company, which offers clothing, apparel, accessories, and personal care products for men, women, and children. The firm operates through the following segments: Gap Global, Old Navy Global, Banana Republic Global, Athleta, and Other. The Gap Global segment includes apparel and accessories for men and women under the Gap brand, along with the GapKids, BabyGap, GapMaternity, GapBody, and GapFit collections.